S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
________________________________________________________________________

                                  9035

                       2009-2010 Regular Sessions

                          I N  A S S E M B L Y

                              June 19, 2009
                               ___________

Introduced  by  M.  of  A. NOLAN -- (at request of the Governor) -- read
  once and referred to the Committee on Education

AN ACT to amend the education law, in relation to  the  streamlining  of
  planning and reporting requirements for school districts and boards of
  cooperative educational services

  THE  PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND ASSEM-
BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  Section 1. Short title. This act shall be known and may  be  cited  as
"the school paperwork elimination and reduction act of 2009".
  S 2. Subparagraph 5 of paragraph b of subdivision 4 of section 1950 of
the  education  law,  as  amended by chapter 602 of the laws of 1994, is
amended to read as follows:
  (5) The trustees or  board  of  education  of  each  component  school
district  of the board of cooperative educational services shall adopt a
public resolution which  shall  approve  or  disapprove  such  tentative
administrative  budget at a regular or special meeting to be held within
the component district on the date designated  pursuant  to  subdivision
two-a  of  this section as the date for election of members of the board
of cooperative educational services, or in the  case  of  the  board  of
education  of a central high school district on the regular business day
next following such designated date.
  If the resolutions adopted by the trustees or boards of education of a
majority of the component school districts of the board  of  cooperative
educational  services  actually voting approve the tentative administra-
tive budget, the board of cooperative educational services may adopt the
tentative administrative budget without modification. If a  majority  of
the component school districts actually voting fail to adopt resolutions
approving  such  tentative  administrative  budget,  or if the number of
component school districts approving the budget  equals  the  number  of
school  districts  disapproving  the  budget,  the  board of cooperative
educational services shall prepare and adopt a  contingency  administra-

 EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                      [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                           LBD12118-01-9
              

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tive  budget  which  shall  not  exceed the amount of the administrative
budget of the board of cooperative educational services for the previous
school year except to accommodate expenditure increases attributable  to
supplemental  retirement  allowances  payable  pursuant  to section five
hundred thirty-two of this chapter  and  section  seventy-eight  of  the
retirement  and  social  security law. [For purposes of development of a
budget for the nineteen hundred  ninety-four--ninety-five  school  year,
each  board  of  cooperative  educational  services  shall  separate its
program, capital and administrative costs for the nineteen hundred nine-
ty-three--ninety-four school  year  in  the  manner  prescribed  by  the
commissioner,  and  shall  submit  the resulting separate administrative
budget to the commissioner for approval. Upon approval  of  the  commis-
sioner, such separate administrative budget shall be deemed the adminis-
trative  budget of the board of cooperative educational services for the
nineteen hundred ninety-three--ninety-four school year.]
  S 3. Paragraph c of subdivision 4 of section  1950  of  the  education
law,  as  amended by chapter 301 of the laws of 1996, is amended to read
as follows:
  c. Make or cause to be made surveys to determine the need for  cooper-
ative  educational  services in the supervisory district and present the
findings of their surveys to local school  authorities.  Each  board  of
cooperative educational services shall prepare long range program plans,
INCLUDING  SPECIAL EDUCATION AND CAREER EDUCATION PROGRAM PLANS, to meet
the projected need for such  cooperative  educational  services  in  the
supervisory  district for the next five years as may be specified by the
commissioner, and shall [submit] KEEP ON FILE  AND  MAKE  AVAILABLE  FOR
PUBLIC  INSPECTION  AND REVIEW BY THE COMMISSIONER such plans and there-
after annual revisions of such plans [to the commissioner] on or  before
the  first  day of December of each year, [except that special education
and career education program plans, in a form specified by  the  commis-
sioner, shall be submitted every two years, no later than the date spec-
ified  by  the  commissioner,  and  revised annually] PROVIDED THAT SUCH
PLANS MAY BE  INCORPORATED  INTO  A  BOARD  OF  COOPERATIVE  EDUCATIONAL
SERVICES DISTRICT-WIDE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN.
  S  4.  Paragraph  kk of subdivision 4 of section 1950 of the education
law, as added by section 13 of part A of chapter  436  of  the  laws  of
1997, is amended to read as follows:
  kk.  For  the  nineteen hundred ninety-seven--ninety-eight school year
and thereafter, the board of cooperative  educational  services  (BOCES)
shall  prepare  a  BOCES  report  card,  pursuant  to regulations of the
commissioner, and shall make it publicly available by transmitting it to
local newspapers of general circulation, appending it to copies  of  the
proposed  administrative  budget  made publicly available as required by
law, making it available for distribution at  the  annual  meeting,  and
otherwise  disseminating it as required by the commissioner. Such report
card shall include measures of the academic performance of the board  of
cooperative  educational  services,  on a school by school or program by
program basis, and measures of the fiscal performance of the supervisory
district, as prescribed by the commissioner. Pursuant to regulations  of
the  commissioner,  the report card shall also compare these measures to
statewide averages for all boards of cooperative  educational  services.
Such  report  card  shall include[, at a minimum, any information of the
board of cooperative educational services  regarding  pupil  performance
and  expenditure  per pupil required to be included in the annual report
by the regents to the governor and the legislature pursuant  to  section

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two  hundred  fifteen-a  of  this  chapter; and] any [other] information
required by the commissioner.
  S  5.  Paragraph  f of subdivision 11 of section 3602 of the education
law, as added by chapter 82 of the laws of 1995 and such subdivision  as
renumbered by section 15 of part B of chapter 57 of the laws of 2007, is
amended to read as follows:
  f. Approved [plan of service and program evaluation] APPLICATION.  All
school districts and BOCES desiring to operate an aidable program pursu-
ant to this subdivision shall complete [a comprehensive plan of service]
AN  application, including a budget by program component[, together with
an evaluation of the effectiveness of program components offered  during
the most recent July first through March thirtieth, if any]. Such [eval-
uation  and  plan]  APPLICATION  shall  be  in  a form prescribed by the
commissioner and shall be submitted  not  later  than  [forty-five  days
after  the  provisions  of this paragraph shall have become law, and not
later than] May fifteenth [in subsequent]  OF EACH school [years]  YEAR.
Within  forty-five  days  of  such deadline, and upon evaluation of such
applications, the commissioner shall notify school districts  and  BOCES
of  those  portions  of  such [plan of service] APPLICATION that will be
aidable in the school year  ahead  after  making  a  determination  that
approval  of  such [programs] APPLICATION will assure maximum effective-
ness, geographic availability and lack of duplication of such  programs,
support  for  educational  initiatives,  and  compliance  with  required
program and fiscal reporting  requirements.  No  aid  shall  be  payable
pursuant  to  this  subdivision  unless  the  [program]  APPLICATION  is
approved by the commissioner.
  S 6. Paragraph b of subdivision 8 of section  3602  of  the  education
law,  as  amended  by  section 16 of part B of chapter 57 of the laws of
2007, is amended to read as follows:
  b. District plans of service. Any school district receiving  an  addi-
tional  apportionment  pursuant  to  subdivision ten of this section for
pupils in career education programs or a payment in lieu of such  appor-
tionment  or having a public excess cost aid setaside pursuant to subdi-
vision four of this section shall keep on file and  make  available  for
public  inspection  and review by the commissioner an acceptable plan of
service describing the student outcomes expected from implementation  of
the  proposed  plan,  provided that such plan may be incorporated into a
school district's district-wide comprehensive plan. The plan of  service
[submitted  by]  OF a school district receiving an additional apportion-
ment pursuant to this section for pupils with  disabilities  shall  also
describe  how  such  district  intends  to ensure that all instructional
materials to be used in the schools of such district will be made avail-
able in a usable alternative format for each student with  a  disability
and for each student who is a qualified individual with a disability, at
the same time as such instructional materials are available to non-disa-
bled  students, provided that such plan may incorporate by reference the
alternative format plans developed pursuant to subdivision twenty-nine-a
of section sixteen hundred four, subdivision four-a of section seventeen
hundred nine, subdivision seven-a of section twenty-five  hundred  three
or subdivision seven-a of section twenty-five hundred fifty-four of this
chapter.  Such  plans shall be in a form prescribed by the commissioner,
and except as heretofore provided, shall have the content prescribed  by
the  commissioner.  The  commissioner  may,  from  time to time, require
amendments of such plans as deemed to be necessary  and  appropriate  to
further the educational welfare of the pupils involved.

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  S  7.  This act shall take effect immediately; provided, however, that
the commissioner of education shall promulgate any rules or  regulations
necessary  to  implement the provisions of this act on or before July 1,
2010.